We decided to get to the root of the problem by calling up the makers of the chip--Infineon. We contacted an Infineon representative in Milpitas, CA to uncover the details. The gentleman that answered the phone kindly explained that there is no way the Infineon chip inside the original iPhone is incapable of receiving MMS since that function relies on software rather than hardware.

None of the above should shock any of you, in fact TiPb thought this was the case from the moment it was announced during the 3.0 keynote. If developers of Jailbreak apps, such as Swirly MMS, can figure out a way to send a picture via MMS then there must be a genius at Apple who can surely do it, if not better!

MacLife also went ahead and contacted Apple to see what they had to say about this and we are sure all of you can pretty much guess what their response was. If not, here you go:

"Now the hardware has changed enough between these two devices that not all the features will be available on the original iPhone. For instance, MMS and stereo Bluetooth will not be available on the original iPhone."

If you own a first generation iPhone and don't plan on upgrading it anytime soon, how do you feel about this? TiPb is curious...

I agree with Desmond on this.
Especially when we know that the phone is quiet capable. This is strike one against Apple for me.
I have 3G so not worried yet I guess but I definitely feel for the 1st gen owners.

Obviously the original iPhone's radio is capable of doing MMS. If the cheapo phones with lesser chips can do it then it has to be able, and it's proven with jailbreaking.
Pure money grab by Apple and AT&T.
1. They know most contracts on the original iPhone will be up this summer.
2. They know LOTS of people want MMS and to a lesser extend stereo bluetooth.
So, the plan is with hold these features from original iPhone owners. Their contracts are up. They see the new iPhone. They see everyone else walking around sending pics and using stereo bluetooth but they can't. After a few days of agony they cave and upgrade. More sales, more contracts, more money in their pockets.

I'm going to take a look at this from the other point of view. Instead of thinking Apple is evil, think about all the free stuff you are getting on a phone that is over 2 years old. How many other cell phones have done this for you prior to owning your iPhone?
I believe the true reason for lack of MMS on the first gen iPhone is that it does have different hardware. This would require Apple to create different MMS software for the first gen costing them man hours. Instead they spent that time working on new features like copy/paste which is available on the 2 year old phone.

As an original iPhone owner, I was disappointed to hear that MMS won't work with the upgrade and was confused as to why not. If Apple can't come up with a real reason, I guess we'll know that it is all for profit's sake. That said, it is time for me to upgrade my iPhone; I could use the speed that my friends enjoy with their 3G versions and the GPS antenna would be nice too. I'm hoping that new iPhone hardware will be coming out this summer so I can jump right from Gen 1 to Gen 3... here's hoping for a higher resolution camera and a magnetometer.

Is MMS really that important to people that they'd drop the iPhone for something else? If someone has invested 2 years with the iPhone they've likely invested in music, movies/video/tv and apps. To run away now means that you lose all of that unless you buy an iPod touch. But you get everything you want in an iPhone and guess what they're less expensive now than your original device AND AT&T is looking to offer lower priced plans. If I had an original iPhone and not a 3G I'd view this as an opportunity to get more for less both initially and over time. It's a win for you, a win for Apple and a win for AT&T.

@Justin(Dizzy) is likely correct. 2G may just require Apple writing a different MMS app, and since time and manpower is limited, they're focusing on 3G and next-gen and 2G is just suffering from being the lowest on the priority list.
If they really wanted to upsell, they wouldn't make 3.0 run at all, or say cut and paste wouldn't work, etc.

To the emailer... Someone on the go doesn't have the time or maybe the tools if they don't own a laptop or smart phone to check email on the fly. Also it's not time efficient for me to open my mall app. Wait for it to open and update over edge ( if there's no wifi available) and check my email for one photo. When with 3.0 I could preview the photo thru the notification and with one open, reply,and view it. I do think that some will find a way to send mms on the 1st gen in a format better than swirrly though.

I don't like this. Apple creates a premium product with premium price tag and you'd expect software support / upgradability for at least 3-4 years (similar to other computers right?) I think they might be able to get away with this for a few more years, but they won't always have a competitive advantage..

Its purely a buisness move, why buy the cow if you can get the milk for free ... apple ( with no complaints from me) will keep puting out new iphones upgraded just enough to sell to owners of previous iphones. he thats buisness. i have a 3g but i am gonna buy the new 1 check me out in june ... ill have a 3 g for sale lol . Thanks every 1

I'm a bit bummed, but more so about the lack of stereo bluetooth. Also not sure if it will have to 3.0 sharing over BT features. Not that I really care because I have a 3G as my live phone and plan to upgrade that this summer anyway, but I still have an original iPhone as a test device and spare toy and it would be nice for it to get some love too.

I don't agree with the idea that that Apple would need to write a new MMS app. People who have jailbroken iPhones (both 2G and 3G) have been using Swirly MMS to send MMS's and its not like they needed to get a different version depending on what phone they had.
it doesn't matter to me personally, MMS pretty pointless for me since email is cheaper (by cheaper I mean free) so I'm ok with my 2G iPhone not being able to do MMS.

Im sick of Apple and ATT period. I have an iphone 3G that is running on tmobile. I will keep my iphone jailbroken and unlocked for numerous reasons and this article proves that Apple is dealing on the dark side of things as of late. Why not treat your product with the respect it deserves, although I prefer the 3G the first gen iphone was and is an amazing device. Apple should be thanking its early adapters of an unproven product. Im going back to blackberry soon!!!!!

MMS merely requires the front end app (software) to format the message in the appropriate structure, usually a header that looks something like this
X-Mms-Version: 1.0
X-Mms-Message-Type: m-send-req
X-Mms-Transaction-ID: 0000000066
From: +358990000066/TYPE=PLMN
To: +358990000005/TYPE=PLMN
Subject: This is my MMS message
and then a body containing the various data objects - similar to a MIME email. This message is then encoded and then sent via HTTP POST to a servlet running on a carrier's server somewhere. This has nothing to do with the hardware deficiencies of the the iPhone 2G whatsoever. Neither should the code be any different from 2G to 3G models. I assume Apple will simply not include the MMS app in the 3.0 update for 1st gen owners.

If the 1st gen iphone is not meeting your needs, then switch to another phone that offers the features you want. No other phone manufacturer I know of guarantees backward compatibility - once they release a new OS with a new phone, such new OS might work on older versions but in a lot of instances it will not. My less than 6 months old Blackberry Curve 8310 has a different version of the operating system than the Bold and lacks a lot of features compared to the bold. The 1st gen iphone owners are in a unique position to have access to all the features of the 3G (besides the obvious hardware limitations such as GPS and Edge vs. 3G) - count yourself lucky.

@Phonezar I agree with Phonezar... just pony up and upgrade. Whining about it is pointless.
Why don't you go switch to a lesser cough excuse me , GREATER phone that handles MMS if you're that upset about it. I hear the Blackberry storm is a wonderful device, Cough cough.

The original iPhone never had MMS, and it was never promised. Whether or not Apple can or cannot enable MMS on the original is not really the point. Either they can and don't want to or can't, as they've stated. Either way, the 1st gen was purchased without MMS and with no promise to enable that capability.
You can either continue to cry about something that you have no control over, be happy with a device that actually is better since you bought it, or upgrade to a newer model. You have a choice, just like Apple has a choice whether or not to do anything about it.
Apple is not a non-profit organization. Just like any other electronics company, they must come up with ways to entice users to upgrade to new hardware. Otherwise, profits drop, more people are laid off, there is no R&D to develop new and better products, etc. Try buying a anything, and LCD TV for instance then walk in a year later and see how far they've come. And no, you can upgrade your 60hz you bought last year to 120hz...

It is not logical to be unhappy over something so trivial to resolve. Upgrade! 3G iPhones should be cheap after the next one comes out. No one is saying you have to line someone's pockets by buying a new iPhone from AT&T or Apple.

The 1st gen iphone is capable of it because i have 2 of them on a att family plan using the new SwirlyMMS Version 2. They have been sending mms fine on att for over 2 months. I just did the sim swap with a razor phone and then reinstalled it back into my iphone and it works. If apple is not going to offer the mms on the first gen iphone i imagine that someone will be able to strip it from the new firmware and make i a package in cydia. And i imagine att will open up the snooper program where iphones can easily do mms, then all non-family unlimited messing iphone users can use Swirlymms.

I have a 3G but I really feel for the 2G owners. It seems a little bit ridiculous to hurt the people that paid the most for the device! Early adopters will always have the highest costs but this one is really going to hurt some people. Who knows, 3G owners may get the shaft on some features when the new device comes out too. I sure hope not because I'm still on the fence as far as upgrading the device.

It's amazing how many people are bashing apple for not including MMS for the 1G iPhone. How many other mobile device makers actually give you updates to your phone on a pretty regular basis? How many other mobile device makers actually want you to keep your old device a year or two after it was released and make it extremely easy to do the update yourself? It's funny how quick we are to criticize instead of being thankful for the advantages we have!
And also, these are 2 features that will not be present in the 1G iPhone but 1G owners (like myself) are still going to get the vast majority of features that are coming in 3.0!

This is NOT a surprise. Apple mentioned this in their 3.0 preview event. It may suck, but there is NO bait and switch. This is information released in March.
I am a 1G owner, and am comfortable knowing that MMS was never promised on my device, yet I bought it anyway. The advantages outweighed the need for MMS.

I have the original and I've been completely happy with everything. I'm not going to whine about no MMS but I do understand the complaint. If it's capable and they are releasing an upgrade, then why not include MMS. I planned on upgrading but believe me, MMS is not the reason. You can't fault Apple for wanting those original Iphone owners (like myself) to upgrade. Thanks for all the free previous updates and I'm looking foward to the next gen!

I have the 2G original phone and I am really not that upset with Apple. I have been just fine without MMS for 18 months and will continue being fine without it.
I agree with many of the other posters...I am just glad that they are going to give us OS 3.0 for free. I had to pay to upgrade my OS on my iMac to Leopard (and soon Snow Leopard) or on my work computer if I wanted to go from XP to Vista (but why would I do that anyway?). Regardless, the updates Apple is already giving us are great and continue to make the iPhone leaps and bounds better than any other mainstream smart phone.
That being said...I can't wait to upgrade to the new model that is obviously going to come out this summer!

There is only three things IMO that were missing from my 1st Gen iPhone by default, which I love dearly BTW. MMS, which I was hoping I wouldn't have jailbreak to get, landscape SMS & A2DP. Sheesh, one out of three is bad. : [

Scottb: I understand that is what slot of people think of Apple and fanboys, and it is funny when not mentioned derisively.
The truth is that MMS was, for whatever Apple's reason, not going to be available on first-ten hardware. This was announced in March, I took it as fact. There is no foul play or conspiracy against fanboyz just a business decision.
It is not the only company making cell phones and computers. Apple knows this.

If MMS, alone, is not a reason to jump ship to a new carrier and device, then why should it be considered a reason to force an upgrade? Apple doesn't have to provide ANY updates to their devices. This is true. But they CAN. I just wish they could see the overall benefit it provides as far as customer loyalty. 2G owners have paid the most for the iPhone and now they are being called "whiners" that should simply upgrade and spend more. 
Circumstances have changed for lots of folks in this economy. It may be a stretch to get a new iPhone, no matter how incredible it is.

I got a feeling the no mms capability will become even more of an issue once the 3.0 firmware is released. I hope that the dev team or another hacker can not only fix the mms for iphone 2g but also strip the video functons that the new phone will have and offer them on cydia.

This is all a beat up, Apple is correct - kinda, they just didn't explain it properly...
Apple's gone with the latest MMS standard in 3.0, problem is - this isn't backwards compatible (always) with the previous standard, mainly size related - and the 2G is NOT capable of the latest standard.
Confusing to explain, but.... make it easy.
Use 3.0 to MMS someone with a modern Nokia, a Nokia E71 for example.
Now use 3.0 to MMS someone with an older Nokia, a few years - perhaps a Nokia 6121.... it doesn't work! They'll only receive text!
So is the 2G capable of MMS, absolutely...
Is it 100% compatible with the 3G iPhone MMS, and other more modern handsets - nope!
"why can't my friend with the new iPhone MMS my 2G iPhone, only the text comes through and sometimes small images do but it usually doesn't work... apple sux"
Easier to dump it all together!

don't need MMS. Don't want MMS. I would rather use email. It only takes a few seconds to open the email app and I can forward this message if I want at no additional charge.
It seems the only reason people want it is cause other people use it. Take a stand! A stand for free emails! Screw the less functional, more expensive MMS! Tell everyone "I Have An Email! Use it!". And to the non smart phone users... Stop sending me lame MMS photos of your cat being cute! I have better things to do on my phone;)

I wouldn't be so annoyed with this if it wasn't for the fact that the current MMS solution on the iPhone is absolutely horrible. It will be made the slightest bit easier with the implementation of copy/paste, but this whole viewmymessage.com thing has to go.

I will be upgrading soon once the new iPhone comes out but I am on T-Mobile and I have the 1st Gen iPhone because of it. I am not too happy about Apple not letting 1st Gen iPhone users in on the mms goodness, but this comes as no surprise to me. Apple has a history of doing things like this to it's faithful customers and us early adopters.

The reason MMS is useful is very clear and very simple... when anyone else on the planet sends a picture to their friends, iPhone users can't open it. We have to go to another website, punch in an ID and a password then see a smaller version of the original picture. OR, the sender needs to open their email, attach a photo, send it to the "iphone guy", who then needs to open their email, open the attachment to view the original photo. It's a waste of time and rediculous to think that this is so easy. But the pretentious Apple supporters continue to say "we don't want the useless MMS"... haha yeah, sure you don't. But you wouldn't mind it right ? Some of us still live in the real world and enjoy being part of society.

I'm an original Iphone owner and it's like I understand apple sayin we can't do certain things on this phone anymore I mean it's simple economics they want u to buy a new one no biggie it's part of living in a capitolistic economy and for me I skipped on the 3g but now it's time for me to get a new iPhone so imma get the new one this summer :)

I don't think this is such a hardware issue or a software issue. I think this Is apples way of pushing original iPhone users to upgrade for this basic function. Well that's where jailbreak comes in. Swirly mms works just fine for me. Shame on apple for trying to make a buck. Tisk tisk

It would be nice if the first gen iphone owner were not treaded as second rate customers. Oh well I really don't care, I bought swirly mms and I am happy. I will just not buy any more apple products. Their computers are crap any ways. =P

lets leave MMS aside, they should've included A2DP capabilities for all their devices from the beginning as their devices were IPOD( a device/MP3 player mainly for listening music) and Iphones(which were different forms if IPODS) its a simple thing to consider, if i am selling products that ppl will listen to music with, i should make them compatitable with stereo Blutooth devices if the customers wish to purchase wireless headsets. there is no need to or benefit in making them go with wired headsets.

My husband and I bought first-generation iPhones because of their Internet capabilities, which are wonderful, and we paid $800 for two iPhones. The only thing I don't understand is how they came out with an improved - faster - version and sell it for half price! Now I have to wait to sign another 2 year contract to be able to upgrade and get the 3G at a discounted price. I'd sign a 20 year contract if they'd let me upgrade my phone every year...

Well,,,For the APPLE CEO, Why not legally Unlocked This Damn thing (1st gen iphone) for good.... since you can't do anything about it. so we can choose 3rd party apps. The apps that you turned down for you own interest!..

I am a proud owner of an iPhone 3g. These updates sound nice but what I seem to always need is a zoom camera. My old razor had one. That's all I really want. Everything else is another thing to use against those blackberry users.

For me it's not so much about the MMS or the A2DP stuff, it's more about Apple fucking us over because we got the first generation of the phone. And to all you asswipes out there who are telling us to upgrade: FUCK YOUUUU! I paid over 500 US Dollars for this phone cause Apple were to bitchy to launch it here in Norway and now they are saying they can't bother to include MMS in this new upgrade because of a reason we can all see straight through? Give me a break..
Apple, I'm getting a different phone with Android next time because you have no fucking clue how customer relations are supposed to go down.

I've had my iPhone since christmas of '07. And I've been dieing for MMS.
Finally I saw the 3.0 features and got really excited for not only MMS but everything else also.
Then I found out that MMS (the main thing I want) is UNAVAILABLE for the original iPhone.
It makes me angry.
But my two-year commitment will be spent by christmas of this year. I'll get myself the new iPhone then.
Now to let my decaying (literally) iPhone last for another 7 months and wait for iPhone 3G S!

from what i have gathered from other sites the problem with mms is with At&t. they are taking longer for the 3g people to get the mms because they have to stop the current block that is on it. I have read that it is just not possible for them to do this with the first gen plans. I have t-mobile and am hoping mms will work. I guess i'll find out in a week. then if no go i will wait for someone to try and make a fix and last if all else fails i will upgrade.

I bought my first gen iphone on craigslist. No contract, less expensive monthly costs than 3G.
10 years ago, we didn't have ipods, iphones and cell technology was crap.
I find it amazing that people are so obsessed with having the fastest and newest things as soon as it comes out.
Personally, I'll keep my old iphone and stay OUT of a contract with AT&T and save the additional monthly cost of having to pay extra for text messages. If I want to send photos, I use my real camera, print and frame them and then give them as gifts. Phone pics are silly and almost always crap, as are 90% of the Apps available for the iphone/ipod. If I didn't need to sync my calendar and didn't have a mac, I would just get a pay as you go phone.
Oh.. and the virtual keyboard on the iphone still sucks!
:)

I just purchased a first generation iphone thinking i could save money. after all, the second generation iphone is basically just a little smaller and a little faster. now, knowing that apple is letting everyone but the first generation owners send mms messages, i am considering going back to one of my old phones. atleast they were mms capable.

You guys bought the iPhone without MMS, and Apple given you loads of new features! I think that it is extremely good that Apple have even included iPhone first gen in any of this upgrade.
You guys are arguing because you want something that you never had. If you were that fussed about it, you would buy the iPhone 3G S

So much whining! As 1st gen users here, my wife and I have been very happy with the phone as is. Each OS update has made it even better, and Apple does things slowly BUT WELL! Honestly, we live without MMS because it is basically just a gimmick, cell phone videos ALL STINK, so who cares, and tethering is pretty useless. We have had phone that do these things and NEVER or HARDLY EVER used them, either for business or pleasure! All the other features have been great, and apps take care of the est. Watch someone create video and MMS apps for 3.0...you never know! SAFARI will be faser under 3.0, and right now in NYC our 2G phones BEAT 3G on SAFARI
every time we test them against each other in AT&T stores (when we're tempted to upgrade to 3G), thus the reason we have stuck by the 2G phone. Wi-Fi does the rest just fine. Always upgrading is just a waste of $. When the phone dies, get a new one! Enjoy what you have while it works!

i recently was given a new 2G iphone from apple. mine was a year old (even out of warranty) but my service interruptions were so bad, they said it must be the phone and "made good" this was about a week and a half ago.
the apple "genius" gave me the option to have the phone replaced with a 3G. i personally have always liked the original ones better, and thought a brand new old one is rad. also, in NYC, you can still sell a 2G on canal street for up to $500.
NOW she even told me, "i would never trade up, the 2G is better anyway."
and you know what, i paid hundreds more for my iphone, it's not plastic... AND EVERY DOUCHE-BAG ON THE BLOCK DOESN'T HAVE IT.
i surely would have been appreciative of the knowledge that the upgrade was coming the next week, but i bought my first car with power windows in 2005, and it's a '99.
it's not better because i have it, it's the reason i got it.

I will continue to send mms the way i have been on my first gen iPhone. Basically I use my yahoo email! If I'm sending MMS to verizon it's the (area code) then rest of number @vzwpix.com if it's another AT&T # then it's (area code) rest of the number @mms.att.net you can find the other "email address" for the carriers you need on their websites. i belive tmobiles is number@tmomail.net if i remember correctly. But i'm use to sending MMS every day this way to friends. yeah it's disappointing since AT&T messed up my account and is taking forever to fix my eligiblity so I can get the iPhone 3G S, but oh well....

I hate how all the people who tell the original iphone users to stop whining... when the fact is that we the original iphone users have actually funded the development of the new iphones as we paid 400 dollars for the phone.
So let us whine when Apple wont even give us MMS... when we paid double the cost. And no.. upgrading is not that easy when the fact is that we are in AT&T's dreaded contract. no discounted price...
Once again.. we the original iphone owners have funded Apple's success with the iphone.. and should deserve atleast MMS for supporting it in its childhood.

I Hate The Idea That Apple Doesn't "Support" mms on the 1st gen iPhone. Period. There will be a workaround on the keychains and codes eventually but ... as for the talk about pony up and get the new one ? With the failing economy in the US, Some people Can't afford it. 100-400 Bucks for a phone, or pay for necessary things to live ... I wonder.

This pisses me off as a 1st Gen iPhone users. This has been something that this "smart" phone has lacked since day one when free phones were capable of doing it a long time ago. If the 1st Gen iPhones were sold with $200 discounts for a 2 year agreement like the 3G one was I could even understand them not giving us anything, but we paid full price for the phone! Apple really is letting people down with this, and I will say that my next phone won't be another iPhone....not due to not giving us new features...but for the reason the this phone has been a nightmare...text messages taking 9+ hours to get to my phone....wifi never working....and general random crashes...I've had enough!

Apple and AT&T are crooks on par with Nixon. The warranty and insurance don't cover anything and even after ponying up half a fucking K we're expected to do it again less than 2 years later if we want to have MMS, a feature that every toddler's playskool phone had back in 2005. Macintosh is cockblocking me hardcore, all I want is to be able to receive sexts from my girlfriend while she's away all summer, but apparently that's too much for us to ask.
And if you're one of those appleshiners saying "ooo Macintosh would never try to make a profit off of its loyal customers," or one of those "just buy another one" billionaire playboys who purchases iPhones in bulk to use as decorative coasters, I hate you and implore you to open your eyes and smell the BS because 2G users deserve MMS.

People wouldn't 'whine' if Apple wasn't throwing out a BS excuse to the first gen iPhone owners.
If they just said 'we want you to upgrade, we aren't giving you MMS for the same reason we aren't giving you or 3G users video recording: we never promised it and if you value those features we figure that maybe you'll pay for them,' they'd come off looking a lot more honest.
Yes, it's them being greedy. Businesses do it and Apple is no exception (in fact, they have higher profit margins than most other businesses in their field.)
BUT... You own your iphone. If you want MMS or video or anything Apple doesn't want to give you currently, just jailbreak it and TAKE the features. So what if they're greedy? Be smart. Google iphone jailbreaking, wait for a 3.0 jailbreak to drop, then invest an hour of your life to get the features you want.

I waited in a longer line the day the 1st generation came out and paid a heck of a lot more money than 2nd and 3rd generation Iphone owners did. So NO I do not feel I should have to "upgrade". UPGRADE? Apple is known for being on the cutting edge of technology they should be ashamed they even released a phone that does not have the capabilities that phones in 2000 and later had! and don't get me started on tethering... ATT and MAC should have a class action suit coming at them soon!

A lot of people have been saying iPhone 2G owners should just upgrade, but when you look at Apple's history there should be no reason for this. I mean look at systems like the Powerbook G4. 100% perfectly capable of running the latest Mac OSX Leopard system without any issues. Even older hardware then that CAN run it. So why should they be treating their phone market any different? They shouldn't. Apple shouldn't be sacrificing backwards compatibility for a few extra bucks. Honestly that's just a great way to lose loyal support from customers.
I myself am planning on picking up an iPhone 2G on eBay and unlocking it for T-Mobile. The lack of MMS is annoying, considering I'm not getting a data plan at first, and use MMS daily. I'll have to drop an extra $12 or so to pick up Swirly Space. Granted I do have to jailbreak to phone anyway, but considering I would do a 3.0 jailbreak and unlock, the core functionality of 3.0 would be there anyway. But it's not for this little phone. Awful.

this sucks @$$!!! my wife has a 3G and though it has all the features, the battery life sux! so I guess apple expects me to pay $200 for a new phone after less than 2yrs of having paid $400 for my first gen iPhone. is this their way of saying "screw you very much" to their initial supporters.

Yeah, so I paid $500 USD for my first generation. I've lived without MMS and A2DP and other Bluetooth modes just fine; I'm upset that Apple and AT&T are trying to piss on my back and tell me it's raining! Jailbroken 1.0 iPhones could MMS and Bluetooth, plus all the other stuff I can't think of that I'm getting screwed out of. It's NOT a hardware issue - it's software - and I'm being denied features. Thus, I'm calling AT&T today and explaining to them that I will deny them their money unless they make right and send me a 3G/S out of respect for someone who doubled all you f-ing 3G Snobs' investment - and then gets screwed in the ass!

And one more thing: Dont tell first generation owners to stop whining and upgrade. We shouldn't have to. It's unheard of that a company like Apple fails to provide product support after two years. I have a 2004 PC running XP that still gets updates and tweaks from MACROsoft. I bought a PS2 in 2005, it died in 2007 - and Sony sent me a refurb FREE, and I didn't even gripe at them in the first place! And Apple is going to lie to try and cover AT&T? They just want the extra $10 they're going to charge for 3G/S data plans while attempting to get as many first-genners who dropped half a fucking grand to drop another 200/300 bucks for features that people paying $60 for a go-phone at wal-mart get out of the box! It's crooked, dirty, and repulsive buisness practices - especially from a company like Apple. I can't say I'm suprised at catching the shaft from AT&T, but Apple used to know better. Forget the Macbook I was gonna throw down on when I picked up a 3G/S anyway! (I was planning on an upgrade strictly for the 3G and better camera, plus the storage space) Instead, I'll wait for the 12MPx Sony-Ericcson, and buy a Sony Laptop. They've never screwed me like this! That is - unless AT&T can make right on it and GIVE me a 3G/S free of charge. Besides, they'll get it back with that extra $10 they're pulling out of my ass anyway.

I'm not sure what to do!
I have the 1st gen I phone. I cracked the screen by carelessly dropping the phone recently. I live in Canada and I can't have the screen replaced unless I go to the States. Canada never sold the 1st generation so the Apple Stores here can't fix the screens for them. Anyhow I hate the plastic look and feel of the 2nd and 3rd gens. The silver metalic casing of the 1st gen is amazing and makes that phone a classic piece.
Now, I'm not sure if I shold get the screen fixed in the States, & then download the 3G software or if I should get the new 3GS.
A part of me thinks they'll bring back to nicer looking 1st generation model; but I'm likely wrong.

I purchased the original iPhone on day one and have been very, very happy. Of the 35+ people I work with, almost all of them now have iPhones and nice new Macs to go along with them. The thing about the iPhone is that it's really a computer that happens ho have a phone, so people want to keep using it for as long as possible...like me. I use this thing more than my car :). I tend to think the problem has something to do with AT&T. I only pay $20.00 per month for this 2G plan, plus the same for my wive's and I'm sure they would love to have me move to a $30.00 permonth plan with a new iPhone. No, I think I just stay put with my original, and keep thanking Apple for a GREAT product every day.

My only complaint about having to get a 3G or 3Gs tp be able to use MMS is that my daughter has my original iPhone and barely uses the data plan at $20 per month.
We have the family unlimited texting plan which includes MMS.
If I have to upgrade her phone to a 3G or 3Gs, I have to pay $30 per month for data. On average she uses about 2M per month. I am already getting soaked for her data plan... now I have to pay even more per megabyte with a 3G.
If they offered different data plans, I would have no problem... the cost of a 3G upgrade is fine, it's the ongoing cost of the increased data plan that is the deal breaker.

jailbreak your iphone and look for activatemms in cydia install it and restart your phone. apply the seetings for at&t or t mobile which ever u have and bingo! im on a jail broken 3.1 doing this btw and it wrks fine

I'm very sad that MMS will not work on my original iPhone. I paid a lot for that iPhone (more than most people did for their newer, fancier iPhones). This is just another example of how mean Apple can be. So sad.

@Billy
I have been bouncing that around for the past couple of days. Just not sure I am ready to dive into that tankful of piranha if she messes something up and bricks it. :-)
But yes, jailbreaking is the best alternative at this point.

I am severely unhappy with apple and especially AT&T the longer I have my iPhone. Not only has my service gotten worse and worse recently, now they want me to buy a new phone so I can finally send picture messages? Apple, I love you, but this is unexceptable and totally goes against your stance on saving the environment. And to you At&t, my contract ends in January and so does your monthly allowance from my bank account, I am jailbreaking and heading over to Verizon.

Seriously, what the hell?!! It's only a matter of time that the 3G and the 3GS won't be able to perform the next fundamental function. Otherwise Apple couldn't sell new models. They want me to upgrade to another iPhone after selling out the first generation?! Naw, I'll buy a nokia and send pic messages all day long for $55 a month instead of the ever climbing rip off plan for the ripPhone.

This is bull. I have a 1st Gen iPhone and have stayed loyal to AT&T and my buddy has a 1st Gen but jumped ship with is unlocked to Tmobile. He can send MMS and has been able to for the past 3 months. Guess who is dropping AT&T tomorrow.............
This guy.

if i cant get mms on my 1st gen iphone screw at&t and i'll go to a different service provider all my old phones could do mms and the best phone ever made has limitations because of the service provider screw them they dont offer a discounted upgrade for 1st gen phone owners and they wont renew my apple protection plan then there is no reason to stay with AT&T changing providers and having it hacked so i can get mms on a better network

I paid close to 550$(incl. taxes) on my 1st gen phone in 2008 Feb. Then Apple released 3G in a month + week time, sorry but no refund of 100$ for me 'coz I didnt fall in their 1 month limit. I thought, Thats ok, f'shit happens. Now, that 3Gs is also released, I am 2 models behind in less than year and half (to the time 2nd model released). I don't have all the functionality and stuck with phone that cost me more than newer ones.
Really, feels been taken for a ride.
Love the phone so much now, that I cannot even think of using other junk in market.
Bottomline, I crib but cant live without it. :)
Like most marriages, its not ideal, but it works..

I have the 1st gen iPhone and I just have 2 say this rly sux. U ppl need 2 quit tellin us 2 quit whinin. We paid so much more 4 the phone so we should get double what u all get. Idk what I'm g2 do about this at the moment. I ve spent so much money on apple that it's not even funny. I deserve a break n shouldn't have 2 wry about this crap. Y should I trade in my xpensive Phone 4 1 that is of lesser value? If something isn't done this will not b the end of me.

The hardware in the 2G is identical to the 3G except for 3G and GPS. That being said, the same MMS app should work fine other than slower EDGE Communications. The MMS limit is a strategic one and not due to the hardware specs.

If I can't have it for my 1G, then what was the carrier update I installed?
I'm not upgrading until June 2010 so maybe I'll get some stuff you 3G and 3Gs people won't. Of course by then they will offer a low cost equipment upgrade. I think everything is going to change in 2010. AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile will all offer the iPhone and RIM, Nokia and Samsung will all fade away.

I think they should just put the little bit of effort and make a 2g update for MMS. I don't want to upgrade my iphone right now. It works great, 2g or not. I only have to pay $20 a month for data and 200 txts, instead of $30 for just data. And I enjoy not being under contract for once. It can't be that hard/expensive to program. I'm pretty sure they just want people to upgrade to new contracts and more $$ a month for less. Either way MMS isn't so important to me that I'm pissed, it just seems silly.

I love the iPhone so much but this hurst me that the tried and true user base like myself that waited in line for over 4 hours to get the 1st Gen is being treated like second class citizens...
If anyone should have received the update it should have been us. This is really making me consider other phones now in the market. If I'm going to spend the $300 to upgrade to the newest device just for SMS. Then I might was weel spend $500 and move to another device like the Nokia N900 and have a truly standards based phone with everything I need out the gate!!!!

I think there stupid. Apple and AT&T left a bad taste in my mouth. We should be able to send MMS and allthe other features. I have a mac computer and it updates fine and I bought my 1G iPhone when it first came out and I spent a bunch of money on this phone not to mention it's my 2nd iPhone. I think we spent a shitload of money on this phone and we should the fetures that an iPhone 3G os should have.

It's all about the money. I am not an iPhone owner my best friend has the 1G and she already paid 300 dollars for her phone when it was new. So they want her to buy the newest one when it is only a software change. Interesting.

The reason 1g owners are upset is because they paid 500 f*****g dollars for their phones! Now everyone in the f*****g free world has an iPhone because they are like $100. So yes I am pissed that I can't get a mms update for my phone and I WON'T be buying a 3g for this.

Totally agree Casey! We paid the price full up front on our original Iphones and now they screw us! I don't plan on upgrading to a 3G or 3Gs. All this does is make me fed up with Apple and AT&T both. I get service drops at work to an 'o' and have to do a hard reboot to get it go back to 'E' and now this. What BS! I spent 600 bucks on a phone that neither company is supporting due to really veiled sales gimmick. Drop service and support and upgrade?! I don't effing think so! If the service and support and features are there than i would upgrade based on the speed which is the only real difference between my phone and the 3g versions (processor speed and connect speed) I feel insulted by Apple!

This sucks ass!!So much money expecting the same things other phones have had already and more!! Come on Apple thats why I Jack all your games for free, f'in losers.No one should ever have to pay for a game or anything else....

I think if apple was smart from the beginning and them thinkin they are one of the best. There are a lot of things that came as software updates we should have seen on the first gen phone. U cannot tell me that on the iphone we shouldnt have had mms from the beginning or even the copy and paste. N if im not wrong turning the txt messeging sideways should came out within the first few months. The biggest thing for them was in safari we can turn it sideways. Ok not everything should have came right away wit the phone but atleast shoulda been out in the first few phones. MMS especially should be the first things to consider. That is wat almost every single person has used wit the phones before. The way to come out with a phone is have wat other phones have plus. The iphone is a good phone but half not all this stuff shoulda came out wit the first gen phone

This inability to produce simple old technology mms software is a hoax, and has always made Apple look stupid ever since the iPhone came out. You got this $400 phone that can do almost anything EXCEPT text a picture? They should have figured this out years ago and look like idiots when they say they can't figure it out. I'm all for upgrading, waiting for 4G, but for those who bought first, it is a true let down no matter how you look at it. BTW my wife's 3G is a piece of shit and she constantly has to use mine, we have had dozens of problems and the 3.1.2 hasn't fixed them all.

I agree with Edwards, I'm switching carriers and phones. I liked the Apple iPhone interface, it was truly revolutionary, but I have had enough of their sales/business practices. Early purchasers of iPhone were first screwed by the price drop (we got a $100 card for more Apple stuff that I had no use for), second screwed by bricking modified phones, then third screwed by refusing to provide MMS while simultaneously providing it to 3G owners (slap in the face to early adopters). I'll move to the Droid and enjoy being able to modify whatever I want on the phone without some corporation trying to brick my phone or prevent me from installing "questionable" applications.
If anyone is wondering--First gen phone owners are not getting MMS for the same reason it was never provided in the first place. The AT&T network could not handle 2M+ phones sending pictures over the Edge network. They let 3G owners get MMS because the 3G network can handle the additional bandwidth.

I am not so upset that I cannot receive pictures via text, but I also no longer receive notifications of texts with pictures like I used to. At least before I'd get that text and could go online and view the picture.
Someone mentioned how time consuming it is to open an email on Edge. I do it all the time, all day long, picture or no picture. I've never used a 3G so I have nothing to compare it to. Yes it's slow, but I don't go online, I have the email app and it seems quick to me.
I'm not sure when the next gen comes out, but I'm really not unhappy with my phone, it works, does tons of stuff, just slower. I will probably just wait to get the next gen when it comes out, after I sell mine for lots of money. ;)

Man, this totally SUCKS! Us first generation iPhone buyers should be top priority for MMS. We were the first of the now multi-millions of people to buy an iPhone & we bought it at 3-times the new price. Apple is now on my "not so good list" until they make the iPhone 2g compatible for MMS!

A 1st gen user. Won't be spending more money on an upgraded phone. No cracks in my 1st gen screen, and aside from AT&T f-ing horrible service, the device is pretty genius.
I have no problem using the photo email function and pre-programming my friends carrier MMS addresses into their contacts.
-Pick photo from camera roll
-Select email photo
-in email address field navigate to friends contact email that was added by me (each carrier one)
-add a subject or personal message (as ususal)
-Done & success.
No complaining, just minimize your gap between problem and solution. Or, if you like, go visit the dev team & their cool hacks...they're a fun solution too.

I have the 1st gen and I love it. It works just fine after almost 3 years, no cracks, no problems and don’t plan on replacing it anytime soon.
I don't think it's slow (even when I don't have access to wifi) and I don't really care about the MMS like other people on here; it would be nice to have the MMS capability, but since I have At&T they can’t support it for my phone. I just email pics and have asked people not to text pics to me, end of story.
I took advantage of the free OS upgrade and have cut and paste (which was SORELY and stupidly lacking before) and a few other things I didn't before. Yes I paid more for my 1st gen, but I feel like I have a better phone -
I love the metal casing on the back (as opposed to the cheap looking plastic the newer ones have), the better battery life, and the fact that I only pay $20 a month for my unlimited data plan and 200 texts.. (after not paying ANYTHING for data for the first 2 years)
I won't be upgrading to the 3g; it's not worth it to me to pay the extra $10 a month to At&T.
I might look into jailbreaking my phone and changing my carrier - seems like I can get MMS with another carrier and maybe even a cheaper plan...
For now, I’m perfectly happy with my 1st gen phone and have no reason to give more money to Apple or At&T.

Just a survey. How many of the above 3G owners that are screaming "Quit Whining and upgrade" actually bought their phone and not their parents? Because it really comes down to costs. Remember when Sega kept putting out a new console about every year, expecting everyone to go out and buy a new console. Is Sega selling consoles anymore? Yes, I have a 2G. Yes, I was disappointed when I purchased my phone and it did not have MMS, but I'm not going to run out and upgrade just to get MMS. It's just an inconvenience when 3G owners send me MMS messages. Besides, 2G owners got a better data+text messaging plan than the 3G owners.

I think Apple was built on it's loyalty to it's customers and that may be far less a priority today than it was several years ago. It bugs me bad. I don't mind paying high prices on a Mac because it's better, from the hardware to the support. Now the support is disappearing, so it just not the same bargain anymore. Profits are through the roof on our backs, I want customer loyalty to always be a priority at Apple. This is clearly a lack of support so we'll just buy more.

Apple has never had loyalty to it's customers, it's users have
had all the loyalty, and we get 0 for it.
As a 1st gen iphone user, I'd be happy to receive my calls and not have them routed to VM, never mind having MMS.

I can't get any apps and I use my iPhone wifi as a regular phone. This is the worst time since I'm waiting on a VERY important case to be settled as well as me trying to get things done I've done before but now I can't!
I don't quiet understand when they say it can't work when it has worked just fine before, do I sense a company trying to force owners out of their own devices into ones that are more exspensive with a lot problems!